Navigating payments systems

A payments system is typically defined as a financial system that supports the transfer of funds from one party to another. The parties can be individuals, businesses, institutions and so on. The system should provide a sound set of rules, decision-making structures, infrastructures, instruments, technologies and standards that make those transfers or exchanges possible. Pretty simple, really.

Usually, these systems are governed by some manner of local or international regulation, say for example a Visa or MasterCard payments system. Some systems are self-regulated (such as WeChat Pay) and exist in concert with regulatory best practices and processes that may exist for the country of payment origin.

In the retail sector, usually most people seeking our help are concerned with retail payment systems and this could be: